Automatic selective temperature-controller



H. w. AND R. H. souneR.-

AUTOMATIC SELECTIVE TEMPERATURE CONTROLLER. APPLICATION FILED APR. 16. I919.

7 1,316,517. PatentedSept. 16, 1919.

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\ AUTOMATIC SELECTIVE TEMPERATURE CONTROLLER. APPLICATION FILED APR. l6, I919.

1;? 1 6, 5 l 7 Pat ented Sept. 16, 1919.

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1,3 1 6,5 1 7 Patented Sept. 16, 1919.

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HOWELL W. SOUDER AND ROBERT HOWELL SOUDEB, 0F TAMAQUA, .PEN'NSYLYANIA.

AUTOMATIC SELECTIVE TEMI ERATURE-CONT ROLLER To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, HOWELL W. SoUDER and ROBERT H. SoUDER, citizens of the United States, and residents of'Tamaqua, in the county of Schuylkill and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and Improved Automatic Selective Temperature-Control ler, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to automatic temperature controllers of the same general nature as is covered by Letters Patent of the United States No. 1,204,909, issued to us on the 14th day of November, 1916.

Among the objects of the present improvement, however, is to improve the same with respect to the means for maintainmg the clock mechanism in running order automatically; to improve the disk commutator mechanism associated with the clock mechanism whereby the same is rendered more easily adjusted for variations in times of operation of the day and night thermostats, and other advantagesof the invention will appear as the description progresses.

With theforegoing and other objects in View the invention consists in the arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed, and while the invention is not restricted to the exact details of construction disclosed or suggested herein, still for the purpose of illustrating a practical embodiment thereof reference is had to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same parts in the several views, and in which- Figure 1 is a diagram of our entlre system including the alternate thermostats, the clock mechanism, and the motor mechanism.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the motor mechanism having the clock associated therewith and showing particularly the automatic winding means of the clock.

Fig. '3is a plan view of the device, parts being in-horizontal section. ,0

Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the 3.L1]11Si3- ment dial for the selective time devices for night and day service of the thermostats; and

Fig, 5 is a rear elevation of the same.

Referring now more specifically to the drawings we show the motor-M having reducing gears 10 and 11 connecting the shaft thereof to a shaft 12 having a worm 13 meshing with a large worm gear 14*fixed to the main commutator shaft 15 to the opposite Specification of Letters Iatent. Patented Sept. 16, 1919.

Application filed Apri1 16, 1919. Serial N0. 290,503. I

17 are connected andfrom which the arms pro ect in diametrically opposite direc: tions, one for alternately opening and closing the draft through suitable connections and the other for alternately opening and closing the check damper of the furnace or equivalent heater. 18 indicates the winding shaft of a clock mechanism, the spring of which is shown at 19 and adapted to be wound by any suitable automatic means,

preferably fromthe motor M. To this end we provide an arm 20 fixedto the winding aha t 18 and carrying at its outer end an anti-friction roller 21 adapted to project into the path of either of the projecting ends 22 of an albutment arm fastened to a commutator adjustably fixed to the actuating shaft 15. Suitable ratchet mechanism 23 maintains the power of the spring stored therein .until the same is paid out in the 7 ends of which draftcontrolling arms 16 and normal running of the clock. The arm 20,

however, oscillates toward and from the path of the abutment arm with the unwindthe commutator have semi-cylindrical extensions 32 and 33 respectively, each adapted to cooperate through substantially a half rotation of the commutator with switch blade 34 through which the motor circuit is continued through a wire 35. Between the motor and the source of energy 36 is a wire 37 and on the opposite side of the source of energy is a wire 38 leading to a switch blade 39 of the disk commutator 40 connected to the clock mechanism.

41 indicates a cylindrical circuit breaker fixed to the actuator shaft 15, the same comprising a metallic shell with which one switch blade 42 has constant contact and with which shell another switch blade 43 has.

intermittent contact through half rotations of the actuator shaft the blade 43 bein lifted from the shell at the and of each hal rotation by a plug of insulation 44. The switch blade 42 is connected through a conductor 44 with one side of the source of energy and the other switch blade 43 is con-- nected through a wire 35 to the wire 35 above referred to. Under normal conditions the circuit through the battery and motor is broken at the circuit breaker by virtue of one of the plugs of insulation 44,

I and hence the motor is normally idle.

The disk or clock commutator 40 1 comg'ises two main parts 45 and 46 which may understood as referring to night and day service respectively.

service, each to the exclusion ofthe other. For the adjustment of these commutator parts 45 and 46 we provide indicatorarms 49 and 50 respectively associated with the night and day portions 51 and 52 of the face of the dial as shown in'Fig. 4. It is'to be understood that the disk commutator as a whole rotates in accordance with the normal action of the clock and makes one rotation every twenty-four hours, and hence at one half the speed of the hour hand. The indicator dial therefore is graduated for twentyfour hours, any suitable portion of such hours being regarded as the night period and the remaining portionof the whole number of twenty-four being regarded as the day period.

The night thermostat includes a wire connection 53 with the switch blade 47 and as indicated in Fig- 1 the circuit is completed through the blade 47, plate 45', blade 39 and wire 38 to the battery. If the temperature is normal according to the adjustment of the indicator 54 of the thermostat the circuit will be broken between the expansion ,member 26 of the thermostat and both of the motor connections 28 and 29. While the contact blades 39 and 47 are bridged by the plate 45, the blades 48 and 39 will of course (see Fig. 3) lying between the plates 45 and 46, consequently the .day thermostat must remain dle or neutral until the clock will have made its necessary movement to bring the blade 39 as well as the blade 48 into contact with the plate 46. If for instance the temperature rises above the degree for wh ch it is setthe expansion member 26 will make contact with the wire 28 completing the "circuit through the contact plates 30 and 34, commutator 32, motor, wire 38, blades 39 and"47, plate 45 source of energy through 1th the plate 45 aswitch blade 47 has constant contact and p the respective night and day thermostats'are to be brought into and wire.53. The motor being started in this manner will cause a half rotation of the actuator shaft and commutator carried thereby. After a portion of this half rotation has been completed the blade 34 will have passed from the extension 32 to the extension 33 thereby breaking the circuit between the contacts 30 and 34. By this time, however, the plug 44 of insulation will have passed from beneath the blade 43'so that the circuit will be continued from the the wire 44, contact blades 42 and 43, circuit breaker shell .41, and wires 35, and 35 to the motor.

en, however, the next plug 44 comes beneath'the blade 43 the circuit will be'broken and the motor will stop. Consequently this half rotation of the actuator shaft will have caused a closing of the drafts of the furnace so that in due course of time the expansion member 26 will be separated from the contact 28. Should the temperature fall the expansion member will make contact with the connection. 29 and the operation of the motor will be initiated accordingly through the wire 29, contacts 31 and "34, commuta tor 33, wire 35, motor, wire 38, contact blades 39 and 47, plate 45 and wire 53, it being remembered that the commutator 33 having been previously actuated through a half rotation will be in a position to bridge the blades 31 and 34. This automatic actuation of the thermostat will continue throughout the night service and when the day thermostat is brought into service a similar actuation of the motor and the automatic stopping thereof will be accomplished, the only difference being that ordinarily the indicator 56 for the day thermostat will be adjusted to a higher degree of temperature. The magnetic means indicated at 57 in the diagram of Fig. 1 for the prevention of damage to the instrument due to arcing is fully set forth in. our pre vious patent and hence no specific reference thereto is necessary in this specification.

Referring now once more to the clock mechanism and'particularly the automatic winding means therefor, the circuit closer 24 being carried by the arm 25 and oscillating coincidentally with the oscillation of the winding arm 20, will brought into contact with a pair of flexible contacts 58 and 59 carried respectively by the contact blades 42 and 43. Whenever the clock is sufiiciently run down to bring the circuit closer 24 into position to bridge the contacts 58 and 5 9 as indicated in the diagram and also in dotted lines in Fig. 2, the motor is set into action, the circuit at such time being bridging position withthe blades 42 and 43 thereby continuing the running of the motor until the next plug 44; breaks the circuit.

In the meantime the abutment arm 22 rolling over the roller 21 will cause the movement of the arm-20 in a counter-clockwise direction as seen in Fig. 2, rewindingthe spring 19. This rewinding of the clock is therefore accomplished by either of two conditions, first the normal unwindjnglof the spring in "the" running of the clock whether ,or not the thermostats have been is'actuated as a'result of the operation of operative to initiate the actionof the motor,

and secondly the clock is 'rewound through the action ofthe abutment arm 22 and winding arm each and every time the motor either thermostat. -It follows, therefore,

- that after the apparatus is once installed and the motor is connected through a plug or the like to the .usual house lighting system or any other suitable source of energy .if the house is not wired, no further attention is required to be given to the mechanism except to set the disk commutator according to the hour of the night or morning when the respective thermostats are to be brought into service. A

In the rewinding of the clock either abutment arm 22 is adapted to coeperate with the roller 21 carried by the winding arm 20. Consequently at'every half rotation of the shaft 15 the clock spring will be re;

wound whether previously run down or not.

It is to be noted, however, that the shaft 15 is ordinarily given a complete rotation at every automatic rewinding :of the clock' spring assuming, of course, that the winding of thespring is initiated solely by the. run down condition of the clock and not by a change of temperature in the building act.

ingthrough the thermos-tats. In other words if the thermostats are not subjected to a change of temperature requiring the action ofthe motor for ad usting the drafts or dampers and the motor'is set into operation by reason of theflcontact 24:, as above v explained, the shaft 15 will be given a half rotation for the direct purpose of rewinding the spring with the-immediate result that the condition of the dampers will be changed due to the action of the arms 16 and vv17, but the commutator 41 at this time,

if the shaft shouldcease rotating at the end of the half rotation,.would be 1n a position antagonistic to the'purpose of the thermostat... Consequently the thermostatic conditions will act automatically to initiate the second half rotation of the shaft so as to restore the. dampers to exactly the same position as they were before the clock is rewound.

We claim:

1. In a device of the class set forth, the combination with an automatic power actuated shaft, thermostatic means serving .to

initiate the action of the power means and rotation of the shaft, and clock mechanism to determine the period of service of the thermostatic means, of a member carried by the rotating shaft serving to rewind the clock mechanism at each rotation of the shaft.

2. In a device of the class. set forth, the

combination with a motor operated actuat-- ing shaft, thermostatic means to automatically initiate the action of the motor and said shaft and clock mechanism to determine automatically the periods of service of the -thermostatic means, of a winding arm for the clock mechanism, and means carried by the actuator shaft coeperating with saidv arm to cause the rewinding of the clock mechanism at each actuation of the shaft.

3. In automatic temperature controllers,

the combination with a motor, thermostatic means to initiate the operation of the motor .due to temperature changes and clock mechanism to determine the periods of service of the thermostatlc means, of automatic rewinding .devices for the clock mechanism,

and means to initiate the action of the winding means at regular intervals throughout the day or night irrespective of whether the thermostatic means have been operated to initiate the movement of the motor.

\ 45 In a time and temperature. controlled regulator, the combination of a motor, means actuated by the motor to cause the shifting of dampers or the like, when the tempera- HOWELL W. SOUDER. ROBERT HOWELL SOUDER. 

